The Dynasty of the Many-Faced God (Religion)
The Dynasty of the Many-Faced God is a religious organization based on the worship of the deity known as the Many-Faced God. Adherrents of the faith have no known shorthand reference word, instead insisting to be referred to as "the Servants of the One True Multifaced God". History Founding and Early Period Based out of the town of Aelstrom, the religion was founded early in the June of 2011 by the ''' '''prophet Glorious_Leader. Having stumbled across the statue that the religious order would go on to name "Lord Tiki", it was there that he first claimed to hear the voice of the deity, which commanded him to spread its teachings of fraternity, virtue, compassion, and barbaric blood sacrifice. At this point in the Dynasty's history, there was no formal name for the religion, and the deity was only known as "Lord Tiki" by his followers. However, despite their obscurity, the followers of the Many-Faced God would soon prove the strength to be found in their new lord. Religious Conflict On a seemingly normal day, in the midst of laboring in the pursuit of the veneration of their lord, the prophet Glorious_Leader was traveling just outside of Aelstrom in pursuit of resources to be found abroad. It was there that he not only heard the voice of his lord, but was bestowed the resource which he sought. Upon returning to Aelstrom with news of his divine bounty, the prophet once again sensed the invisible presence of Lord Tiki, who then blessed him with gifts of gold, right before the eyes of his neighbors. They then ran to the Lord Tiki monument to give praise to their Lord. As they celebrated, one of the disciples spotted a silhoutte on the mountains surrounding the monument. It was at this point that Glorious_Leader warned the outsider to keep his distance from Lord Tiki. In the exchange of words it was revealed that the other party, an individual known as Snickers, was the representative of a religious order dedicated to the worship of a being known as Chivers. After claiming intention to slay the worshipers of Lord Tiki, the prophet called his disciples to arms, slaying Snickers, and proving the strength of the Many-Faced God. However, the death of Snickers did not go unnoticed, and the next day a band of warriors under the banner of the god Chivers descended upon the town of Aelstrom. Once again, Glorious_Leader, the prophet of the Many-Faced God, approached them with diplomacy, attempting to enlighten the raiders of their ignorance, all the while having his disciples discreetly prepare for war, insisting that he himself required no armor, for he was protected by the faith of Lord Tiki. This call to arms soon proved to be in good judgement, for the followers of Chivers, determined to spill the blood of those they deemed heretics, flung the first arrow, setting off an epic battle. The fighting was fierce, yet at the end of the day, the disciples of Chivers lay dead on the ground, their blood spilled in praise to the Many-Faced God. With this event, religious conflict became almost common in Aelstrom, with many bands of zealots flying the banners of countless Gods frequently attacking the town. Yet the will of Lord Tiki was always made manifest, leaving his followers standing triumphant. The Present Having glorified his faith in combat, the prophet was soon inspired to spread his faith to lands abroad. Knowing that his god would be interpretted in many ways in distant lands, he humbly suggested a title to his divine master, and an agreement was reached. Though the citizens of Aelstrom would still refer to their god as Lord Tiki, his universal name would be The Many-Faced God. With this, the prophet packed his belongings and set out from Aelstrom, intending to spread his faith to the uncivilized lands to the south, in a town he would call Hrothgard. Beliefs Creation Followers of the Many-Faced God generally believe that their god is without age, always having simply existed. They also maintain that it is by their god's hand that the world, as well as all life upon it, was created. The prime exception to this rule were the Creepers, which were an abomination that sprung from the leftover materials following his assembly of the world. The chronology of the creation of the world is as follows: #On the first day of creation, the Many-Faced God had decided to embark upon a creative project out of boredom. Yet, still being in the slump that boredom tends to bring about, he didn't get much done. This is how the void was formed. #On the second day, the Many-Faced God consumed much caffeine, and deciding to start fresh, covered his unflattering work of the prior day in the rock we now know as bedrock. It was on this day he was most productive, creating red stone, diamonds, and gold and furnishing the deep reaches of the world with them. It is worth mentioning that the second day is a much longer period than a common day, encompassing untold divine productivity. #On the third day, the appeal of a new project was beginning to wane, and Many-Faced God found himself much less enthusiastic about this new project. So on the third day he created the first sentient species to labor for him. This species would be called the Pigmen. However, after having them construct the world up to just below sealevel, he became bored with them and slew them, bathing in their blood and leaving them in the twisted form of Zombie Pigmen. #On the forth day, the Many-Faced God, now energized by the widescale bloodshed of the prior day, created the surface world and the oceans, filling them with lush vegetation and awe inspiring land formations. Wanting someone to admire his work, he created the first humans, which were noticably smaller than the common modern man. He also made livestock, such as pigs, chickens, cows, and sheep. Of course, the jealous zombie pigmen weren't too pleased, and began to butcher everything in sight. Humans were turned to zombies or skeletons, and animals were devoured outright. Finally, a man prayed to the Many-Faced God, begging him to imprison the zombie pigmen somewhere where they could no longer slay his kind. The Many-Faced God replied that he should stop being a wuss, that the man's ideas were unworthy of the Many-Faced God, and so created the first Ghast, smout the weak wretch that dared tell him how to do his job, and he went to sleep. #On the fifth day, the Many-Faced God got a great idea! He would construct a place to imprison the zombie pigmen, and the newly formed Ghasts, so that they could no longer spread their reign of terror. It was on this day that he created the Nether, using an equally new creation, the wolf, to herd them through the portals he had constructed all throughout the world. Following this the portals were sealed, and the Many-Faced God decided that his work was done. However, when he went to announce this to the humans he had created to carry out his will, he noticed they had all been killed. He then created a race of larger, more durable humans that wouldn't be so high maintenance. And it was good.